Scandal: 70 worshipers and part of the church choir left Mass because of the sermon
Münster (kath.net) He had not been able to reach the “screaming mob” in the sermon with his voice and therefore could not explain his position and the biblically important meaning of forgiveness. In retrospect, the 79-year-old retiree Ulrich Zurkuhlen complained, as "Church and Life" reported. Zurkuhlen was critical, according to "Church and Life" that even bishops of priest-perpetrators would be spoken of as "criminals", even though they were also good pastors. The chaplain continued to explain to the editors that nobody was "only profoundly evil", but that often "goodness and guilt” are bound together in the same person. It is "gradually come to a time that the Church hierarchy after a long time can sometimes say a word of forgiveness.”
In the sermon in the Münster Holy-Spirit church, Zurkuhlen had spoken according to representation of worshipers in the sermon of two women, whose conversations were constantly circling around themselves and then have commented pejoratively on their deceased husbands. As a result, the priest pointed out the possibility of forgiveness. He then compared this to priests who had sexually abused minors, and they too should be forgiven. The chaplain affirmed this presentation to "Church and Life". At this point some parishioners were said to have interrupted the sermon and started a discussion with Zurkuhlen. Much of the community even gathered outside in the church square. Specifically, 70 worshipers and part of the church choir had left the Mass.
The responsible senior pastor in the parish association, Stefan Rau, explained to "Church and Life" that this analogy of blasphemous women and the victim-perpetrator relationship is "more than thoughtless". Victims have no obligation to forgive, such an impression should not be allowed to stand that way. He has invited those interested in a few days to a public conversation about the sermon. Rau considered it particularly bad that in this service those affected by sexual abuse were present.
A conversation has already been held with the chaplain, and further talks will follow, according to Rau. Disciplinary measures would not be taken against Zurkuhlen at first.
AMDG
Stuttgart (kath.net/rn) "He said to them: The scriptures say: My house shall be a house of prayer. But you have made of it a robber's den." (Luke 19:46) The Bible quote is reminiscent of the conditions that have been taking place for two years in a Catholic church in Stuttgart. What happened? "We have a church, do you have an idea?" The Church of St. Mary in the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart turned to the people of the city of Stuttgart with this question in 2017 and also got answers: St. Maria as a theater, café, function room, backdrop, installation, platform, gallery, marketplace. Especially bizarre: The parish committed almost everything with the toleration of the diocese. Thus, under the supervision of the pastoral assistant and the help of a party association, the church became a "robber's den" in the biblical sense, the parish understood this as a "process" and as a "space of coexistence."
Catholics from the parish and beyond have had enough of the profanation of the church for months. So 600 signatures were collected, there were first complaints to the dean responsible, then bishop and the German Bishops Conference (DBK). A Catholic from the parish says to kath.net: "Unfortunately, all without success. The Pastoral assistant describes his project, St. Maria with ... 'continue."
In the letter from Catholic bishop Gebhard Fürst in January, the protesters were only informed after more than three months of waiting that the bishop had "taken note of the case" and asked the relevant authorities to take care of it. It was claimed in the episcopal letter that "some details" of the project have since been changed.
Also in a letter from the German Bishops' Conference in March 2019, it was succinctly referred to the Episcopal Epistle, according to which it was ensured that St. Mary will continue to be recognizable and experienced in the city "as a place of faith and as a Roman Catholic Church."
What was the worth of the promises of the bishop and the DBK in the weeks after. So on Ash Wednesday (!) a dance performance took place in the church (admission 16 euros), at the end of March there was a clothing flea market with food and drink in the church. Lastly, there was even an exhibition about the mosques in Stuttgart in the church.
Contact Bishop Fuerst
Also in a letter from the German Bishops' Conference in March 2019, it was succinctly referred to the Episcopal Epistle, according to which it was ensured that St. Mary will continue to be recognizable and experienced in the city "as a place of faith and as a Roman Catholic Church."
What was the worth of the promises of the bishop and the DBK in the weeks after. So on Ash Wednesday (!) a dance performance took place in the church (admission 16 euros), at the end of March there was a clothing flea market with food and drink in the church. Lastly, there was even an exhibition about the mosques in Stuttgart in the church.
Contact Bishop Fuerst
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG